Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/217

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 157 of this society. "When war brol^e out Gen- eral AVatkins stood with the South and was appointed tiy Governor Jackson as brig- adier general in the first military district which embraced Southeast Missouri. This was in 1861 and he proceeded to organize The Jli.ssouri State Guard in his district. He did not long retain command, however, as he found the place uncongenial to him. He re- signed and was succeeded by General Jeifer- son Thompson. General Watkins afterward removed to Scott coimty where he lived imtil the time of his death in 1876. Just before his death, as a fitting recognition of his long and active service, he was cho.sen a member of the constitutional convention of 1875 and was made its president. His home in Scott county was called "Beechland, " and was not far from Morley. Another member of the famous bar at Jack- son was Timothy Davis, who was a native of New Jersey but had lived two years in Ken- tucky and came to Jackson in 1818. He re- mained there for a year and a half. He then moved to Ste. Genevieve and later to Iowa, from which state he was sent to Congress. "When he came to Jackson he was accompan- ied by a nephew who was destined to become one of the famous lawyers of the Southeast; this was Greer W. Davis. He was not ad- mitted to the bar until 1820, but from that time on was a prominent lawyer. For seven- teen years he was circuit attorney for the southeast circuit. He was very careful in at- tending to business and soon became wealthy. It was said of him that he was both fluent and logical, and that his addresses were models of concise, careful statements. He was a member of the Methodist church at Jackson for more than half a century. He was the last of the territorial lawyers in the state, dying in 1878. He was held in the highest esteem by his neighltors and l)y the bar of the entire Southeast. In 1818 Alexander Buckner, who was a res- ident of Kentucky, removed to Cape Girar- deau county and settled with his mother and sisters on Randol creek. He was a good law- yer, with a turn for political life. He was a pro-slavery advocate and soon took a prom- inent place in the political affairs of the ter- ritory. He was appointed circuit attorney shortly after his coming and was a member of the constitutional convention in 1820. He was afterward a member of the state senate and in 1831 was elected United States senator from Missouri. He was the organizer of Unitj' Lodge at Jackson, the first jMasonie lodge in the territory of Missouri. This lodge was organized under a charter from the Grand Lodge of Indiana. Senator Buckner died in 1833 at Jackson, during the scourge of cholera. One of the most prominent men in the Cape Girardeau district, during the early period, was Joseph ]IcFerron. ilcFerron was an Irishman who came to America in early life, was a man of fine sense and possessed a su- perior education. He was reserved in man- ner and peculiar in appearance. He was the first clerk of the courts of the Cape Girar- deau district and held the position for a num- ber of years. After his duel with "William Ogle, an account of which is given in another place, McFerron resigned from office. This I'esignation, however, was a test of public sen- timent, which was soon shown to be in his favor. He was reelected and held the ofiice until his death in 1821. He lived for a con- siderable time in Cape Girardeau, but re- moved to Jackson upon the establishment of the county seat at that place. Among the first attorneys before the court iield in Cape Girardeau were Anthony Hay-